Shopping bag cover



Oct. 31, 1961 J. B. FINE 3,006,532

SHOPPING BAG COVER Filed June 4, 1959 JNVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,006,532 SHOPPING BAG COVER Joseph B. Fine, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Triangle Bag Company, Covington, Ky., a corporation of Arkansas Filed June 4, 1959, Ser. No. 818,206 2 Claims. (Cl. 229--54) This invention relates to shopping bags of the conventional type having handle loops which project upwardly from the side walls opposite one another. More specifically, the invention is directed to a cover for a shopping bag of this type.

One of the objectives of the invention has been to provide a cover of the type set forth which includes means, cooperable with the handle loops, to lock it in place on the bag.

Another objective has been to provide a cover which completely encloses the open end of a shopping bag to hide the contents from view and to protect the contents from dust, rain, snow etc.

Another objective of the invention has been to provide a cover which enhances the appearance of the con ventional shopping bag.

A further objective of the invention has been to provide a shopping bag cover which, when in place to enclose the open end of the bag, also serves to hold the side walls of the bag apart so that the bag is generally rectangular in shape while it is being carried.

Another objective of the invention has been to provide a cover of the type set forth which also telescopes over the upper ends of the walls of the bag, thereby confining them such that they conform to the rectangular outline of the cover and do not bulge or assume a circular configuration which tends to unbalance a conventional shopping bag and cause it to fall over when it is put down.

For the attainment of these and such other objectives as may appear or be pointed out, I have shown an embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawing, wherein: n

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a cover of this invention in place on a shopping bag.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the cover.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, transverse cross sectional view of the upper portion of a conventional shopping bag with the cover in place.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the cover.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a cover showing it in flattened condition.

As stated above, the cover of this invention is designed for use with a conventional shopping bag such as the one designated generally by the numeral 10. A bag of this type includes side walls 11-11 and end walls 12 12. As is the usual practice the end walls are creased as indicated at 13 in FIGURE 1 so that the bag may be folded into a fiat condition for storage. The upper marginal edges of the end and side walls may be doubled over as shown at 14 in FIGURE 3 and the ends of handle loops 1515 locked within the fold thus provided by means such as staples or glue. When the empty bag is fully opened it assumes a rectangular shape and it is one of the functions of the cover of this invention to maintain this shape.

The cover of this invention is indicated generally at 16 and it comprises a top panel 17 which is rectangular in outline and of a size just slightly larger than the rectangular outline of the fully opened upper end of the bag. The side walls 1818 depend from the opposite sides of the top panel and the end walls 1919 depend from the opposite ends of the top panel. As shown, flaps 2020 are turned over at right angles from the opposite ends of each of the two end walls 1919 and these flaps are fixed by glue or other fastening means to the ends of the side walls 1818 to form an inverted boxlike structure. For storage purposes the cover may be flattened by folding the end walls 19'19 in against the underside of the top panel as shown in FIGURE 5.

The top panel 17 has two elongated slots 2121 cut through it. Each slot is centered along one of the longitudinal edges of the center panel and each slot is as long as the overall width of a handle loop so that when the cover is placed down over top of the shopping bag the handles project up through the slots 2121 with the opposite sides of the loop snugly engaged against the ends of the slot. Additionally, each end of each slot has a circular locking detent 22 cut into the material of the center panel, this circular detent being of a diameter slightly larger than the width of the slot to define a locking shoulder 23 which is at the side of the slot toward the center of the center panel. Thus, when the handles are inserted through the slots as illustrated in FIGURE 1 and then grasped as illustrated in FIGURE 3, the handle loops engage into the locking detents and rest against the shoulders 23 which maintains the lower ends of the loops in their normally spaced relationship, thereby preventing these ends from pulling in toward one another under the weight of the contents of the bag which would cause the side walls of the bag to wrinkle. Furthermore, it may be seen from FIGURE 3 that the top panel prevents the side walls from collapsing in toward one another when the bag is being carried. In substance, therefore, it is the function of the detents of the cover to maintain the lower ends of the handle loops in the spacing they assume when the bag is fully opened.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination comprising a bag formed of relatively thin flexible sheet material and having a bottom panel, side walls and end walls, two flexible handle loops projecting upwardly from the side walls opposite one another, a rectangular cover having side walls and end walls depending therefrom to form an open rectangular box, two opposed elongated slots, each of said slots being centered on the longitudinal edge of said cover parallel to the side wall and in opposed parallel relation to each other, each of said slots being as long as the width of said handle loops and each end of each slot being configurated to provide a detent notch, said handle loops operatively engaging said slots and projecting therethrough so as to meet each other permitting balanced carrying while each forms an olique angle with said cover with the lower ends of said handle loops engaged in said detents whereby the said handle loops are maintained in spaced relationship and whereby the side walls and end walls depending from said cover confine the open end of said bag to a rectangular outline.

2. The combination comprising a bag formed of relatively thin flexible sheet material and having a bottom panel, side walls and end walls, said end walls being gusseted so that said bag opens up to assume a rectangular cross-section, two flexible handle loops projecting upwardly from the side walls opposite one another, a rectangular cover having side walls and end walls depending therefrom to form an open rectangular box slightly larger than the cross-section of said bag, two opposed elongated slots, each of said slots being centered on the longitudinal edge of said cover parallel to the side wall and in opposed parallel relation to each other, each of said slots being as long as the width of said handle loops and each end of each slot being enlarged to provide a detent notch which is wider than the slot to provide a shoulder, said handle loops operatively engaging said slots and projecting therethrou-gh so as to meet each other permitting balanced carrying while each forms an oblique angle with said cover with the lower ends of said handle loops engaged in said detents whereby the said handle loops are maintained in spaced relationship and whereby 3 4 the side wafls and end Walls depending from said cover 648,686 Ferr es et a1. May 1, 1909 confine the open end of said bag to its rectangular out- 2,G62,617 Steen Dec. 1, 1936 line. 2,236,358 Speeger Apr. 1, 1941 References Cited in the file of this patent 5 3 J. axle]: p1.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,836,344 Gatward May 27, 1958 Re. 20,428 Kells June 29, 1 7 2,333,224 Steen June 10, 1958 

